Nippychippy said:
I have the dewalt won and u hate it's under powered 110v and the motor housing moves on the sliding rods slightly and if the saw bogs down alittle the blade moves and marks the wood I have used the 240v version and it wasn't that bad as the one as I got it could've a bad saw
I've read to many bad things about the Dewalt to consider buying it, I have heard some good reviews though so I'm not sure it's all that bad really, perhaps bad batches, misuse or poor build quality?
skinee said:
the Erika will blow you away,i have the 85 though for more portability (site use) perhaps the 70 would be best,with the favourable exchange rate (euro/pound) at the moment you could buy the saw direct from a German dealer for much less,more info on the Erika can be found on the mafell users forum,i can recommend an excellent,english speaking, German dealer,pm me if you want his details.
Can you post it for others to benefit from or..................? Thank you
wrightwoodwork said:
I know the erika is expensive. I dont regret the purchase of mine. If I needed to buy a second one which I don't I wouldnt think twice about it. If you're wanting 110 not sure the dealers in germany can supply 110 if can use 240 then certainly look at getting from Germany. Also before purchasing it is properly best to get a demo. Thier is the pressio or a metabo type version not sure if available here in 110
I have seen many of your videos on YouTube. 240v is all I need. The Mafell I'm sure is wonderful but the accessories aren't cheap, £400 for this, £300 for that another £XXX for that, it soon adds up. I'm not saying no though. Thank you
Kev said:
I'd rate the latest Metabo as one of the better modest cost portables ... but I honestly couldn't bring myself to describe it as a "precision" tool.
I have looked at the Metabo, I don't think I'm asking for much really, just after something that if you set it to 50mm it will cut 50mm accurately in a straight line every time, it can't be that much to ask? Maybe my expectations are off?
Thank you
carlb40 said:
Interesting, looks very similar to Axminster brands, Axminster also sell XCalibur saw blades etc.
I took a trip to Axminster today to look at the Axminster Hobby Series TS-250M-2 Table Saw and Bosch GTS 10 XC Table Saw as they fit roughly in the same price range, nothing else they had was really suitable.
The chap helping me; lovely fellow but utterly clueless, poor guy. The shop demo model of the TS-250M-2 was so out of whack, it was only useful for cutting up fire wood;
- the fence was off
- the mitre gauge had a couple mm play
- when you set the width of cut to XXmm, it would be way off
- it's like the tape measure had been stuck down in the wrong place
- the horizontal sliding fence extruded metal thingy would catch on the edge of the table whenever you slid it forward
It was horrid, so we both gave up. I don't think it's a bad saw, I wondering if the shop demo must have been hashed by so many tyre kickers it's now useless. I just said, look I can't buy this as I can't trust it. It does have great reviews on the Axminster website.
Then I looked at the Bosch GTS 10 XC and it was fantastic:
- I grabbed a "GemRed" from the shelf to check the angle of the blade and it was within 0.5degress or bang on every single time, even at 90degress it read 0
- The fence was square pretty much all the time, it did wander a few times at the far end so I had to realign it. It did feel solid though and the clamp felt solid
- The mitre gauge did have a couple mm of play
- The sliding table is built into the saw, although limited by length which is understandable, it slid nicely
- I couldn't get the blade to go all the way down, it felt so tight I thought I was going to break the wheel thingy
- The extension table for additional length was easy to pull out, although it's only 3 pieces of metal rather than a solid surface so small pieces of wood will end up falling of the end so it's only useful for long bits of wood
- The other extension table for additional width was easy to pull out, as above only 3 pieces of metal things on runners rather than a solid surface
- It wasn't quite clear where to set the fence when using the extension but we worked it out, FYI you set it to 33 in either position
- As Festool colour items green that have a function, like knobs or gauges etc, Bosch seem to have the same on the saw, any levers were red
- Push stick, plastic blade cover plate for additional blade and wrench for blade change all attach directly to the saw
- The saw was on the red stand and was a good height to worth at
- The saw is huge comparatively so although its movable, you'd want some help
- The blade up down and tilt are part of the same wheel thingy, it worked well although the blade release for tilt was dead tight but I'm sure that will loosen up with use
- I would use a zero clearance insert if I get one
The above were observations only, I wasn't able to power them up and cut any wood sadly.
I haven't bit the bullet yet but it has been enlightening how poor the choice out there is, surely there is scope for a £700-1000 portable table saw that cuts accurately every single time, I don't think anybody sets out to buy a tool that cuts squint or not at the correct angle, even the cheapos, nobody sets out to buy that.
As nice as the Festool is, I'm not sure it's worth the money, I just want an accurate table saw that I can setup and start cutting within a minute or so without faffing about with modules and inserts and clamps to hold switches in place and stuff.
Maybe the cast iron beast is on the cards........................The Bosch felt pretty nice for what it is.
